Social affairs ministers have agreed laws to allow companies to set up as pan-European enterprises, 30 years after the plans were first tabled

Date: 21/12/00

Ministers finally approved the legal text for the 'company statute' yesterday (20 December), after Union leaders cleared the way for a deal at the Nice summit.

The rules will give firms operating in more than one member state the option of establishing themselves as a single company under EU law, thus cutting red tape and eliminating the need for a headquarters in each state.